Gastrointestinal complication of high-dose corticosteroid therapy in acute cerebrovascular patients.

Corticosteroids are commonly used in the treatment of stroke, although their clinical effectiveness has not been established. Side effects, especially gastrointestinal complications, occur in patients with cerebral disease. A necroscopy study of 124 patients investigated the occurrence of gastrointestinal lesions in patients with acute stroke treated with high-dose of corticosteroids compared to untreated patients with stroke and to patients dying from non-vascular neurological diseases. A significant relationship between the use of steroids and gastrointestinal lesion in strokes is demonstrated.